# Assessment of a selective kinase inhibitor in pre-clinical models of NASH

> **NIH NIH R43** · EPIGEN BIOSCIENCES, INC. · 2020 · $375,033

## Abstract

Summary
The ultimate goal of this application is to develop one of Epigen’s proprietary, selective and drug-like kinase
inhibitors for the effective treatment of liver fibrosis associated with chronic diseases such as non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe type of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is the most common
liver disease and is associated with obesity and type-2 diabetes. There are no effective treatments available for
NASH. Our approach will involve the pre-clinical evaluation of one advanced lead compound, identified according
to a disease-specific progressive cutoff criteria, in two animal models of NASH to establish the proof-of-concept
in this indication. The successful outcome of this work will enable initiation of efforts to establish a more detailed
understanding of the pharmacology of the most promising candidate in rodent NASH models and
commencement of toxicology and chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) work to support filing of an
investigational new drug (IND) application and eventually initiation of clinical trials in humans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10080619
- **Project number:** 1R43DK123920-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** EPIGEN BIOSCIENCES, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Fabio Cohen Tucci
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $375,033
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10080619

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10080619, Assessment of a selective kinase inhibitor in pre-clinical models of NASH (1R43DK123920-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10080619. Licensed CC0.

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